Page 5 of The Healer and the Warlord

Hers seemed almost…

Even in my own head I hesitated to continue.

Like mine, I forced myself to think. At least in magnitude, if not in quality. If my power was the searing, unforgiving intensity of the desert sun, then hers was the calm majesty of the velvety night sky, lit with endless stars on a moonless night.

Now, Alyx shifted against me, and I gritted my teeth as it pushed her hips back against mine. I wasn’t sure which tortured me more, her physical proximity, or the strange ache where my magic lived in the pit of my belly that begged me to reach out and drown in her power once more.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from groaning aloud. I could not be having such thoughts. She was a hostage, and after her father agreed to Lord Deryn’s price, I would likely never see her again.

Still, I needed a reprieve.

I looked toward the horizon, and my heart sank.

The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in brilliant oranges and purples as it dipped below the horizon. The dark smudges of tents and an encampment in the distance were nowhere to be found.

I had hoped the desert, in her ever-shifting landscapes, would grant me a short ride back to my own clan. But it was not her will.

With a sigh, I pulled Dileas to a halt.

“We should make camp for the evening.”

Alyx huffed. “We won’t be doing anything unless you untie me.” She lifted her bound wrists in illustration.

“I will set up camp, while you sit and watch,” I clarified with a grimace. Then I slid down off Dileas’s back. Before Alyx could attempt to follow, slowed by her immobilized hands, I reached up and lifted her down, slinging her over my shoulder instead of setting her on the ground. She squeaked indignantly and kicked her legs.

“I can walk!” she insisted.

I used one arm banded over her thighs to stop her flailing, instantly becoming aware that she still only wore the thin shift she had been wearing when I took her. The hem was riding dangerously high as she draped over my shoulder.

I swallowed down the thought that I seemed cursed to continue making bad decisions when it came to my charge and used my free hand to rifle around in my packs for another length of rope.

“I know you can,” I responded as I carried her over to a pile of boulders near where we had halted. “And if I don’t do something about that, you might steal my horse and ride away while I set up our fire.”

Bending down, I set her on the ground, so her back was propped against the rocks, and found her scowling at me. “I would never steal a horse.”

I raised a brow at her, and she continued to stare me down unwaveringly. I found that I believed her.

Horse theft was one of the highest crimes in the clans, second only to murder. But clansmen were generally not opposed to spilling blood, and I had kidnapped her. Somehow, though, I sensed that she wasn’t lying, despite the fact that stealing Dileas might be excusable in these circumstances.

Maybe it was the openness in her gaze, despite her glower. Or perhaps it was the sense of pure brightness that had shot through me when I brushed against her magic earlier.

Still, I shrugged and grabbed her ankles. Even as she kicked against me, I was able to capture them both in one hand. “Maybe you wouldn’t, but you already pulled a knife on me once. I would prefer not waking up to my throat slit.”

She stopped struggling, likely realizing it was futile, and let me tie her ankles. I could feel her scowling at me as I finished. The weight of her gaze didn’t abate as I went about setting up a small camp and building a fire.

Chapter four

Alyx

Itensed as I tried and failed to suppress another shiver. As hot as the desert was during the day, it grew brutally cold when the sun went down during the rainy season. The fire Kelvar had built chased away the worst of the chill, but it still seeped through the thin shift I wore and into my bones.

Kelvar had pointedly ignored me since we stopped for the day, but now his gaze darted to where I sat. His hands paused in their motions, brushing through Dileas’s mane. He had been tending to her for long minutes, and while I was sure not a single tangle or speck of dust remained in her luxurious mane and tail by now, I could not blame him for indulging. She was a magnificent horse and seemed to enjoy the attention.

It made me miss my own stallion.

I shivered again, and Kelvar put down the brush.

As he rounded the fire and approached me, I eyed him warily. I squeaked in surprise as he scooped me up in his arms.